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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Image of the Church

For my Baptist thought class, I had to post a small response to some chapters I read on the church. It was about what is the church and what image renders it best. Here is my response below. Tell me what you think!

The church (Gk. ekklesia) is the gathering and assembly of God's people to exalt glory and praise to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, equip the saints through the teaching and discipleship of the whole counsel of God's word, edify the brethren through unity and fellowship, and evangelize to the lost through the preaching of the gospel. I agree with Hammett that the most appropriate text for the church is Acts 2:42-47. It highlights a great image of a true church built on biblical foundations and sound doctrine for the work of ministry.

I believe the best image of the church has to be the bride of Christ. Christ is coming back for a pure bride. We (the church) live for God with the knowledge that the "grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:11-14). The bride of Christ (the church) are the believers living a sanctifying life and serving the kingdom of God, while awaiting the coming of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. This is the best illustration to me because I will be getting married soon, and the symbolism of the relationship between the church and Christ (being pure and waiting until that great day to be united with my bride) has helped me see the precious church most effectively.

2 comments:

joppoman said...

It almost seems romanticized, but that is an extremely accurate picture of the church; grace makes it true. Revelation 19:8.

RJ McCauley said...

Jared! Hey stud, how are you doing? Thanks for the comment!

What is your favorite subject in Christian Studies?